Yes, but I also find many situations where slaves were killed without trial
for even lesser sins than poisoning the master. There were no consequences
for the murder of the slave. May I suggest reading at least the first ten
chapters of Frederick Douglass' Autobiography at
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Douglass/Autobiography/ ....
Anne
At 06:13 PM 1/7/03 -0500, you wrote:
>I don't think you can call the trials mock trials when you also find trials
>instituted by individuals who were enslaved but felt they should be free and
>you have prominent white individuals testifying for them; the community for
>the most part unless swayed (which it sometimes was/is) by fear or mob fever
>tried to be fair. As with any trial or court--you can find (even today)
>instances of individuals testifying not to the truth but to what they feel
>"someone" wants to hear. I don't think we can make blanket judgments either
>for or against the validity of an individual event.
>
>Barbara Vines Little, CG
>PO Box 1273
>Orange, VA 22960
>phone/fax 540-832-3473 (evenings)
>[log in to unmask]
>
>CG is a service mark of the Board for Certification of
>Genealogists®, used under license by board-certified associates who meet
>genealogical competency standards prescribed for those programs.
>
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Anne Pemberton <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 5:11 PM
>Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] slightly OT: Re: Jefferson nephew chops a Black man
>to pieces
>
>
> > I have a problem seeing these as "trials" in the typical meaning of the
> > term. The slave would not be able to call other slaves to witness for the
> > defendant since they could not honestly pledge to tell the "whole truth
>and
> > nothing but the truth" if it was not in the master's interest for the
> > witnesses to do so. Were there attorneys available to mount a defense for
> > a slave? Or was it a mock trial? Was justice served, or just the master's
>will?
> >
> > Anne
> >
> > At 09:57 AM 1/7/03 -0500, you wrote:
> > >I'm not sure what incident you are referring to in regard to Cicley
> > >Reynolds, but slaves did have the right to trial and there many examples
>in
> > >the various county order books. Orange County, for example, documents a
>case
> > >where a slave was tried (and convicted) of poisoning her master.
> > >
> > >-----Original Message-----
> > >From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
> > >[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Reyesuela
> > >Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 7:40 PM
> > >To: [log in to unmask]
> > >Subject: [VA-HIST] slightly OT: Re: Jefferson nephew chops a Black man
> > >to pieces
> > >
> > >
> > ><shudders> It's amazing what horrible things you can find in a past that
> > >many (including myself) would like to idealize. I myself was researching
> > >Cicley Reynolds (her first name is spelled several different ways on
>verious
> > >documents), an ancestress and early settler int he Jamestown area, and
>aside
> > >from learning about her four husbands and the first breach of promise
>suit
> > >in America, I discovered that she killed a family slave girl for
>poisoning
> > >and killing the last of her husbands. Whether or not the accusation was
> > >true will never be known, because as a slave, the girl never got a trial.
> > >Nor will it be know what desperation, madness, or hatred could have
> > >motivated such an act.
> > >The more I read about the social history of slavery, indentured
>servitude,
> > >and/or serfdom in any culture--be it Roman, American, Australian, or
> > >Russian--the more convinced I am that bound servitude is an instution
>that
> > >fosters the very worst and most brutal in men, the served and serving
>both.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >---------------------------------
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> > Anne Pemberton
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> > http://www.erols.com/stevepem
> > http://www.educationalsynthesis.org
> >
> > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
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>
>To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
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Anne Pemberton
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http://www.educationalsynthesis.org
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